Ah, The Game's Afoot

This from the NYT, buried at the bottom of the article: The discussion of Russia's hope that Bush will agree to let Russia have access to Iraq's oilfields, as Russia had previously agreed with Saddam Hussein, in exchange for Russian troops as peacekeepers in Iraq. Of course this was denied by all, but a Russian businessman spoke frankly: "Mr. Alekperov said that he knew of no such quid pro quo of oil for Russian military help, but did not discount the possibility of Russian troops going to Iraq at some point. Sending troops, he said, "is a political question. But if oil contracts go through quickly, we would have lots of Russian oil specialists on the ground, and every country should be able to protect its own people."